Yuri Andreyevich Zhdanov (; 20 August 1919 – 19 December 2006) was a Soviet and Russian chemistry professor and rector of the University of Rostov. He was the son of Soviet politician

Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov ( rus, Андрей Александрович Жданов, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ˈʐdanəf, a=Ru-Андрей Жданов.ogg, links=yes; – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician. He was ...

and a former husband of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva.

Biography

Yuri Zhdanov was born on August 20, 1919, in

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

. He graduated from

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

in 1941 with a degree in organic chemistry and served with the Red Army during World War II. He received a Ph.D. in 1948. In 1947, he was appointed head of the Central Committee's Science Department. As head of the department, he publicly criticized the scientific theories of

Trofim Lysenko Trofim Denisovich Lysenko (; , ; 20 November 1976) was a Soviet agronomist and scientist.''An ill-educated agronomist with huge ambitions, Lysenko failed to become a real scientist, but greatly succeeded in exposing of the “bourgeois enemies o ...

at a meeting with party propagandists and was subsequently rebuked by

at a Politburo meeting ("Don't you know that our entire agriculture depends on Lysenko?"). He married Svetlana Alliluyeva in the spring of 1949 "as a matter of hard common sense but without any special love or affection".

respected the Zhdanov family and had always hoped the two families would be linked in marriage. They soon divorced in 1952. They had a daughter Yekaterina in 1950.Alliluyeva, S. (1967, September 22). Part II The Intimate Recollections of Stalin's Daughter. Life, 91-105. Retrieved 27 May 2016 He joined Rostov State University in 1953, becoming a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences and eventually Rector of the University. He was the author of numerous papers on organic chemistry. In 1950 as the member of Soviet political leadership Zhdanov took active role in the implementation of the national policy of antisemitism. In his later year while being the Rector of Rostov State University and the Chair of the North-Caucasian Scientific Center of Higher Education he established the atmosphere of ethnic and religious tolerance. At that time most Soviet colleges and universities had severe quota on Jewish students and faculty. Many Jewish students from different regions of the Soviet Union were coming to Rostov-on-Don knowing that they would be admitted to local colleges and university. Most colleges and universities of the Rostov-on-Don region under the leadership of Zhdanov employed Jewish faculty and staff. Three out of five scientific research institutes of Rostov State University were headed by Jews. He died on 19 December 2006 in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

Awards

Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" The Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" () is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was instituted on 2 March 1994 by Presidential Decree 442. Until the re-establishment of the Order of St. Andrew in 1998, it was the highest order of ...

, 4th class *Two Orders of Lenin *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

, 2nd class *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Order of the October Revolution The Order of the October Revolution (, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on 31 October 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferred upon individuals or groups for services furthering communis ...

*Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour * Medal of Zhukov *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize () was one of the Soviet Union’s highest civilian honours, awarded from its establishment in September 1966 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It recognised outstanding contributions in the fields of science, mathem ...

References

Sources

External links

* http://www.peoples.ru/science/professor/zhdanov/ page in Russian {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhdanov, Yuri 1919 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Russian chemists People from Tver Stalin family Candidates of the Central Committee of the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Moscow State University alumni Academic staff of Moscow State University Academic staff of Southern Federal University Recipients of the Medal of Zhukov Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the USSR State Prize Philosophers of science Russian organic chemists Soviet organic chemists 20th-century Russian memoirists Soviet memoirists